


Caged

by Shusaira



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, BAMF Sakura, Badass Sakura, Demons, Drama, F/M, Fantasy, I mixed singing into a school career, Inner Dialogue, Lonely Sakura, Manipulation, Protect Sakura team, Protective Hatake Kakashi, Sakura is a loner, Sakura saves the world, Trauma, but she's also a protector, but they will still fight, fic where karin actually works
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2020-09-24 15:41:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20360965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shusaira/pseuds/Shusaira
Summary: Singing.That was all she had wanted. With a broken wing and heart Sakura longed to sing out there and fight alongside her comrades.So she clenched her fists and struggled in the darkness until her hand caught the tiny light shining. With her will burning brighter and brighter, Sakura rose from her sleep. She decided before that, no matter if she lost her voice, her memories or her body parts. Because she will continue to fight on.Au fic in a world where they can be transported into another world to fight ugly ghouls and save the world. Set in the modern world.





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Every story must have an end and a beginning. But this is only a small retelling of the parts of her memory.

Caged

**Prologue**

  
_She felt darkness._

_She was numb._

_And she felt coldness._

_In the dark lit room, a girl laid still in the corner of the room burrowing her face into her knees. Her face scrunched up in pain as she tried to hold in all the pain that she was feeling. Finally, her teary eyes open._

_How much longer do you plan to suffer?_

_The girl groaned and stuffed her palms onto both of her ears._

_Come on, if you just listened to me and just learn to let all of the pain will be gone._

_The girl, slowly but painfully stood up and walked towards the bed. But as she was about to lay down on the bed, a painful impulse came over her and she fell onto her knees. Her sweaty and clammy palms scrunched the black comforter in front of her face and her right hand fisted her shirt where her heart is._

  
_ The girl opened her eyes. The once bright and alluring emerald colored eyes now became dark and soulless. Her eyes searched everywhere for her hands to hold onto in the dark room._

_Give in._

_No._

_Give in._

_No._

_Her hands came onto a small empty vase beside her bed and she lifted it up tightly in her hands._

_CRASH!_

_In opposite of where her writhing form laid, the vase that she had once treasured fell onto the floor after breaking into tiny pieces. The tiny girl huffed small pants and slid down again onto her knees and clutched her heart._

_I will never give into something like this. For them, and for myself._

_Oh, but did you forget the reason why you’re in this mess in the first place?_

_A painful memory resurfaced into her mind and she lets out a gasp. Her quivering hands quickly held her aching head while her back bend further onto the ground. _ _The bright colored hair in her mind sending her mind into a frenzy as she tried to remember who she was._

_“You have never belonged here, and what makes you think we want your help after everything that’s happened?!”_

_A stream of tear escaped her right eye. The girl laid her small body onto the ground and cried._

_Someone. Help me._

** _CHUCKLES._ **

_No one is here. You want to know why?_

_Her hands, which she had used to clutch her head now held over her knees. She tried her best to hide her face into her knees._

_Who are you?_

_._

_It’s because you’re the one who decided to lock yourself in this abandoned wing side._

_ . _

_Who am I?_

_._

_The cause of your own downfall is yourself. Yes, keep blaming yourself and in time, you will bow to me._

_No! I will never fall into your dirty traps. I had a vow. And I will never go to you. As long as my mind is conscious, I will never give up._

_The lone dark and tall shadow that loom_ _ed infront of her balcony slowly disappeared._

_Oh, we’ll see. Indeed, we’ll see._

_Once the shadows that creeped every corners of her room had vanished, the girl lets out a relieved sigh._

_Inner?_

** _Yes?_ **

_Promise me….if I happen to lose myself to the darkside, please destroy me._

** _I will. Now sleep, you need it for future fights._ **

_And finally her eyes shut themselves for once after days of not sleeping._


	2. Epihanea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They were waiting. Silently, never to make a single sound. He wanted to observe, they wanted to see her. Just in silence. So she never knows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer notes: Some things are not mine except the original characters and some really weird ideas in this fanfiction. I do hope this story will progress to be better in the future. I have to put a disclaimer that, this fic involves PTSD, and a whole other depressing stuff plus attempted suicide. Beware.

* * *

_Run. _

_That was all she could thought of at that time. Her puny and slim legs each tried to push themselves past their breaking point. Her clammy hands slicing frantically in the air in order to give her speed. She knew that, even with her short stature and feather light weight she could not outrun those things that was chasing her. At least, that was what the researchers had told her to do whenever she needs to run._

_Pant. Pant._

** _ Run Sakura run! Don’t let them catch you!_**

_Motivated by the equally frightened voice echoing inside her head, Sakura pushed her weak limbs even more. The adrenaline that was not fed by anything other than the fear she held at the moment was what kept her moving. _

_Branches after branches, she kept dodging them. She was in an unfamiliar territory. The sky was dark and grey with clouds sticking to the molecules in the air everywhere. The ground that she ran on repeatedly thumped with every squeal of the monster’s voice._

_ She ran and ran until the sole of her feet bled and felt sore. It really didn’t help when she was only clad in a long garment that reached her knee. Her neck strained with the constant pressure to keep her blood flow normal. But she still couldn’t think straight._

_'Inner, help me!' She plead with a weak voice. _

** _Just focus on running Sakura, I can feel the clearing going nearer to us._**

_She was running in the middle of the for_ _est, she guessed but her view was too overtaken by her panic that she couldn’t really focus on them. She only remembered that she was led to a lab to be tested on her body and yet she couldn’t figure what went wrong after that. The machines that was attached to her with some kind of wires on them made her cower. It was all normal, with the usual screening and moving. But then, when they told her to try to release her chakra, she had failed. The miniscule amount of chakra that she had at the time suddenly burst and enveloped her in a strange light._

_She closed her eyes in pain and immediately covered herself with her arms._

_ Nothing._

_She felt nothing happening. No invincible limbs, no ringing in her ears, none._

_Sakura slowly opened her eyes and what she saw shocked her greatly. Her legs trembled when she saw that she was transported into an another place surrounded by nothing except dirt. It looks like the clearing that Ninjas would often spar in except the ground was all dried up and easily crumbled when she stepped on them. She glanced to the left and right, but nothing was there. Slowly getting her knees back up, her lips quivered as she walked forward into the glade._

_There was no forest, no muddy lake, and no birds that would sing to her with joy. Only mountains of boulder and cliffs higher than her rest on-the-spot._

_‘Inner, I’m afraid.....where is this place?’_

** _ ‘You’re asking the wrong person here.Try going deeper into the clearing, maybe we’ll stumble into a building or whatever.’ _ ** _Groaning_ _, Sakura ventured further, just mildly avoiding the sharp stones at her feet._

_She walked and walked until she passed by a strange looking bouIder. She shyly touched the boulder with her index finger and huffed out a breath of relief when it didn’t break down. She rested her tired body beside the boulder and tried to keep calm. Maybe if she just repeat what she did in the lab, she could probably return there. So she did just that. _

_Her fumbling hands quickly sat on her knees as she closed her eyes in concentrations. She focused on the tiny amount of energy that she kept in her tummy and tried to pull it into her palm._

_First try. She failed._

_ Second try, and she failed too._

_Huffing, Sakura opened her eyes and stared directly onto her right palm. It was small. Well, she considered it small because it is smaller than the guys at the lab. Apparently, she was brought to the institute when she was a baby they said._

_The guy that found her said that she was wrapped in a bundle and left in a forest near the institute. Her parents were nowhere to be found even if they did a lot of dna test on her. So she was left at that. But she had asked one of the researchers that day when she was almost four, why did they take her in when they could’ve just kill her like the others they found. _

_Nevertheless, she didn’t really understand when the person said incredulously that she was surrounded by lights and nature. The grass seemed to cushioned her and the vines was wrapped around her clothing as if to protect her from danger. The higher ups decided to keep her because they were interested in the phenomena. So from then on, they made her take a lot of strange experiments. They were all painful things to do, but the researchers said, if she can withstand all of them until the end, then she could become ‘useful’ to them. But she still didn’t understand. For what?_

_ Shaking her head from unnecessary thoughts, Sakura stretched her limbs one by one as she tries to take a nap there. The boulder was weirdly curved from the ground into the air. The tip reached her nose in full height so she went inside the boulder to hide. Just in case something happens. _

_She laid down gently on her side with her back to the rock. The ground was not comfortable but at least it was soft. So she tucked in her right arm under her head and tried to take a nap. She didn’t know how long it took her but she succumbed to the dark immediately. _

_.........._

_A small shuffling sound near her foot woke Sakura up from her deep slumber. She was in high alert when the sound came nearer and nearer to her. _

_Sakura silently stood up as far as the boulder let her. Her hands clenched at her chest as she saw a strange, bony and black leg-like thing standing at the side of her right. It was painfully skinny. Her throat suddenly felt like vomiting when she tried to take a peek of the creature. Her eyes widened in terror as she saw a ton of skeleton humans with hollowed out eyes roaming the area that she was currently in. Sakura quickly slid her palm over her mouth to keep herself from making any sound._

_‘Inner, what are those things! Help me!’_

_Inner was silent no matter how many times she called for her in her mind. Sakura could only stare in shock as those creatures crept closer and closer to her spot._

_ ‘No, don’t come here. I just turned five and I am as skinny as a twig, I’m not good to eat.’_

_So focused at the creatures in front of her, Sakura failed to notice one of the creatures bent down at the side of the boulder to look at her. It made a small growl and extended it’s bony hand to touch her foot. Startled by the foreign sensation at her foot, Sakura shrieked at the creature. _ _Her heart thumped louder in her chest as she quickly scrambled to the other side of the boulder to escape. But not before kicking the hand away._

_ As soon as she crawled away from the boulder, all of the creatures attention was on her. Sakura stood up and slowly backed away. One by one she slid backwards in silence, afraid to make a sound. But truly, fate was not in her favor when she accidentally tripped on an outgrown branch. Her bottom hit the ground noisily as she tries to get up on her feet. _

_That was not the end of it unfortunately when just after her fall, the creatures began to walk slowly to her place. Sakura trembled and inched slowly again backwards. She glanced to the sides and counts her luck._

_ One._

_ Two. _

_Three._

_And she turned her back on them and ran as fast as she could. _

_In turn, the creatures immediately picked up their speed and chased after her. _

_Her feet clumsily went past fallen branches and crumbled rocks. It felt painful for her and tears peeked out in the corner of her eyes. Her bloodshot eyes sharply glanced everywhere for a place that she could hide in. But her observations was cut off when she felt one of the creatures tried to reach for her collar. She closed her eyes tightly and increased the speed-**if that was possible**\- of her run. _

_Sakura nearly cried out in relief when she heard the voice. ‘Where were you, Inner? Wait never mind. Help me to find out a place to hide, quickly.’_

** _ On it._**

_Panting, Sakura noticed her breathing was becoming more and more difficult to slow down. Her chest puffed in and out hurriedly as her heart burned from the run. She will reach her limit soon if she can’t find a shelter. Right there and then, Sakura sees a glimpse of dried trees in like 2 meters in front of her._

_ Excited, Sakura didn’t see the misplaced tree on her left until her left arm got scratched by the sharp branches. Holding her left arm in pain, her run became clumsier and she nearly tripped over a rock multiple times. Her arm was gashed with the blood rushing down her skin. _

_Sakura was then shocked, when the creature on her right tried to leap at her so suddenly. She dodged the attack at the last minute and had to dodge a couple of the other creatures attack. Feeling confused by the change of attitude, Sakura bites her lip as she was near to the forest. Finally, she ran deeper into the forest. There were no leaves to cover her body, no bushes to hide in and nobody to save her._

_‘It’s basically useless!’ She thought angrily._

_Soon, she reached a clearing, smaller than the first one. She was in the middle of the clearing when her knees finally gave out and she rolled sideways heavily. Clenching her eyes shut from the pain of lying on her injured arm, Sakura focused on getting her breathing right again._

_Far behind her from the forest, she heard their growling. She quickly opened her eyes in realisation as she moved her body to sit up. ‘Nononononono, this can’t be happening, Inner where are you?’_

** _ I’m sorry Sakura..... I searched all over in your memories to find a way to escape, but there’s none. I guess, if we die right here, it wouldn’t be too bad rather than in the lab._**

_Angry at the negative respond Inner gave her, Sakura’s head whipped right and left to search for a way out. The clearing was surrounded by dried bushes all around. Sakura crawled on forward trying to withstand the pain of her body until her hand met the roots of a tree. _

_Well, she supposed a giant tree..and it was the only tree shining bright with what she assumed was.....cherry blossoms? Sakura slowly got up on her knees while her eyes marvelled at the tree. It was triple her size and it was sat on a small hill, where the roots moved down to her feet. The pale pink petals on the branches of the tree kept falling onto the floor. For some reason, the area beneath the tree was green and looked so fresh._

_ Startled, Sakura turned her head a bit when she heard them coming nearer and nearer. Quickly, Sakura walked up the hill to reach the tree. The roots were spread everywhere, she deducted as the roots became bigger and bigger as she went up the hill._

_ After finally reaching the base of the tree, Sakura lifted her emerald eyes to the top of the tree. It was such a beautiful tree none like the ones she had seen at the institute. The pink of the petals seemed to be glowing in bright lights and a piece landed on her outstretched palm. She analysed the flower._

_ ‘This is weird, I feel so calm just by being near the tree.’ Sakura thought as she closed her eyes gently._

_For some reason, when she closed her eyes, she felt a wind blowing softly around her. The gentle caress on her cheeks and around her hair made her feel comfortable. Her hair flew backwards into the air as if weightless. Then she opens her eyes. _

_She let the petal she was holding fall to the ground. Burning with determination, Sakura started by slowly climbing over a large root the same height as her. Her experienced body already accustomed to the move easily flipped herself on top of the root. She stood up carefully and tried to climb further up the giant tree._

_But suddenly, when she was just about to start her first step, the sound of rushing footsteps echoed behind her. She froze as she heard one of the creature growling loudly. She sneaked a glance behind her. Sakura was shocked at the number of the creatures. It was as if they multiplied! _

_Frightened, Sakura pushed her legs to move her body backwards. Slowly, she crawled up the root until her back meets the tree. She flinched at the contact and panicked._

_Her breathing then came out rushed as_ _she feel the rise of a seizure coming to her. She searched everywhere in the clearing for a place to hide. If she can climb the tree, then she would but it’s too big for her. Clenching her shirt at the chest tightly, Sakura brings her knees closer to her. Her forehead and back was already sweating at that point. Then, the creatures finally started heading towards her after a moment of standing still. They ran and pushed the others away as they tried to reach her._

_ Sakura watched them with trembling eyes. Two of them caught up ahead and was 1 meter in front of her. She closed her eyes tightly and prayed. _

_‘Please, don’t eat me, please don’t come near me. God, anyone save me, please.’_

_Just then, when the creatures extended their hands to grab her, a loud grumble shook the area. Sakura’s hands fumbled everywhere when the roots of the tree starts shaking too. Her right hand grabbed a piece of bark on the tree to steady herself. Confused, Sakura tries to figure out the cause for the grumble. _

_Noticing that the cherry blossom’s petals were falling faster than before, Sakura chanced a glance to the top of the tree. Her eyes widened as the glowing of the petals started to glow even brighter. The flowers shook with force as if disturbed. The branches swaying up and down from the wind._

_Sakura looked to her front. She was surprised that the creatures stopped their chasings and was standing still. Not knowing what to do, Sakura moved her left leg to the left to make a distance between them. She guessed that was a wrong move when suddenly the creature beneath her reacted out and grabbed her ankle. She yelped._

_ Her ankle was pulled and Sakura struggled to hang onto the tree. The bark that she grabbed was peeling and finally she let it go._

_ “Ack!”_

_ Her bottom hit the ground as she yelled out. Then, her body was dragged forward by the creature. Sakura turned her body around and digs her fingers into the earth. It did not work however when her body was still pulled backwards. Her body slid on the ground and Sakura winced as her nails chipped one by one._

_‘Someone save me please!’_

_ Groaning, her eyes spotted a tiny rock on her right. She let her fingers crawl to the rock and hastily took it in her hand. She turned around again and pushed the sharp rock on to the creature’s hand with all the force she could muster. It shrieked but did not let go of her ankle. Sakura hit the hand multiple times, however, the last hit she did made the cut inside her palm open again._

_ She released the rock by throwing it to the creatures face. While she was busy fighting the monster, the other ones had already closed in on her position. Each of their steps loud as they, too , tried to grab her. Sakura felt so suffocated with all the heavy air and the looks on their faces. She closed her eyes and finally gave up when she felt that no one will come for her anymore._

_ ‘You were right, Inner. This is better than dying in the lab.’_

_A tear slid out of her eye. She was so close to achieving her dream medal. The researches said that if she behaves like a good girl today she will get the medals that she had seen all of them wear all the time. But she guessed, dying is also a good way to live. As soon as she felt a touch of a tip on her cheek, Sakura was shocked when a strong wind blew out from her behind. _

_The creatures was all blown away from her spot. Even the one that grabbed her ankle. She slowly sat with her arms outstretched on the ground and looked for the source of the wind. Finding none, Sakura looks to the tree again. There was no change with the tree but Sakura noticed a small green vine was quickly growing at the base of the tree. It spreads it selves into several vines and flew into different directions._

_They threw themselves into the chosen spot and made a barrier around the area she was in. The blown creatures tried to step over the vines but was electrocuted. The statics in the air startled Sakura and made her eye balled. Feeling confused, she slowly got up on her feet. She starts her way up to the base of the tree. When she got there, she flinched when one of the tree branches stretched and bent to her height. Sakura didn’t know what to do so she did the only thing that she knew was stupid. _

_She reached out her index finger shyly and touched the tip of the cherry blossom petal. The reaction was instant when the sky and earth around her was grumbling loudly again. She was shaken even when the grumbling stopped. ‘Does that mean it’s happy?’_

_ **‘I mean, when else can you find a happy tree in our world? Enjoy it Sakura.’**_

_'Wha-Inner, where have you been?!’_

_She received no answer so she sighed. She turned her attention back to the extended branch and carefully took a step closer to it. She was not sure if it is safe to be with it, although it doesn’t seem dangerous. When the heat of her body met with the branch, it gently curved and wrapped itself behind her back and under her. Sakura held onto the branch quickly. She was lifted into the air softly until she was at the top of the tree. Then, the branch stopped moving. She was perplexed with the situation and took a look behind her. _

_The distance between the ground and her scared her greatly so she turned her face forward._

_Looking at the other branches, she was mildly surprised to see a big space on the tree. Still hanging in the air, Sakura was about to tell the branch to put her down when a small light went up to her from inside the big space. She covered her eyes from the strong light instantly. “My little one, how did you get here?”_

_Her eyes snapped open after she heard the girly voice. Sakura froze when she realized the small girl in front of her giggled at her expression._

_ “W-Who are you?...Where am I and how do I go home?”_

_“Now, now, little girl. I will introduce myself to you first. My name is Leila. I am the, as what you humans would call, a fairy. So then human...who are you?”_

_Stammering, Sakura struggled to comprehend the situation. She just met a real life fairy and it did not look like what the older guys at the institute described as. It was small but bigger than her hands. It’s eyes was grey and her hair light teal colour. She was dressed lightly with just a white gown. Her eyes immediately attached itself to the gold lining lined all the way from her foot to her knee. She was so beautiful._

_** ‘Like the goddess in our picture book!’** Claimed Inner excitedly. _

_'Yes, like the goddess in the book....’ mumbled Sakura._

_Noticing her amazement, the fairy chuckled and went up to her nose to bump her forehead. “Silly little girl. So, I see your name is Sakura. A beautiful name gifted to a pretty girl.” _

_Blushing, Sakura almost forgot about the whole bunch of creatures trying to eat her just minutes ago. But soon she was reminded again when the fairy-**Leila**\- cast her hands in their directions._

_“Heed my words, neine, that you will not harm this girl in our hold ever.”_

_Silently, the creatures stopped their advance and instead retreat back into the forest. Sakura felt so confused with the ordeal. She opened her mouth to speak. “U-Um, Leila-san, do you know where we are?”_

_Turning around, Lela smiled at the girl. Of course she knew where they are. She, all the fairies and the tree had all been waiting for the girl to come to them. And that’s what she told her._

_Scrunching her eyebrows, Sakura questioned, “All...fairies and the tree? Why? I was told I have no power whatsoever..let alone to be a guest.”_

_ “My.... Well, I will simplify the situations for you. We, as in the fairies have been here since a long time ago. My guess is that you did not notice them. They were all around you since your arrival to this world.Look, you can come out now, fairies.” Just after she said that, a bunch of similar looking fairies appeared in the air out of no where. One came to her and held out a hand for her to hold. _

_Sakura noticed that he was trembling._

_“Hello, my name is Sakura. Nice to meet you, Fairy-san.” It squeaked but smiled anyway._

_ Leila then told the fairy to head back to the tree with the other fairies. She continued explaining to Sakura about the world. “This world has many names. But what we prefer is the simple Core. The tree said it sounds fancy given that nothing here is. Now, you are here so that means that you are the chosen one.” Leila put a palm underneath her chin with a troubled expression on._

_“Chosen one?” _

_The tree grumbled and Leila hastily stopped herself from explaining further. “ My, it seems like it is still not your time to know more, little Sakura. You have to go back.” _

_Sakura spluttered in hope. She bounced in her seat and asked Leila how to go back. She ignored the cover up Leila made in hopes that she can go home._

_“Eager are we? Little Sakura, please remember, as you get older you will come to realize many things and hardships after hardships will be given to you. But do know, that you are always welcomed here, anytime.” _

_“What.... I have to come back here again?” Her eyes widened at the insinuation. Leila giggles._

_“Of course, it was written in the prophecy. Now, hold out your hand and close your eyes. When I count to three, you will return to where you were before you arrived.” Sakura did as she was told obediently. She was clenching her eyes so hard that she felt Leila easing her brows lightly._

_“But do be reminded, dear Sakura,” _

_Sakura peeks out an eye at Leila, “ that you must never tell a single soul of what we have said about the prophecy. You may return, but we will not allow any destructions be made in the core.” _

_Nodding her head fearfully at the warning, Sakura urged the fairy to return her back. Leila sighed at the impatient girl and snapped her fingers. She told the girl if she ever she wanted to come back, all she need to do was call for the tree. Sakura was then surrounded by white lights and she glanced at the fairy in front of her. Leila waved at her and Sakura nervously smiled back. Then she blacked out soon after that._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wellp, I'm not quite satisfied with this chapter just because i made it in a rush...but oh well.


	3. Enervated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She recalled memories of when she was so young. It never ended well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder to you guys, this is my first time writing, and I was inspired to write it after I daydreamed in my final exam weeks ago. Well, enjoy.

  
That was three months ago when she got transported into the other world.

  
Now that Sakura had returned, the researchers at the institute were more careful while handling her. Whilst before they only made her be with one guard, now they multiplied them. She was forbidden from going anywhere alone until they figure out what happened to her. It was well and all for Sakura in the situation that she was currently in but having to mind every single of her move every time tires her.

  
And then, Sakura was sent back to her room.

  
After Sakura was sent back to her original world, she woke up from her sleep still tied to machines on the lab’s table. The researchers was horrified by her return. She had asked in a daze how long was she gone. To her surprise, she only disappeared for three hours. But she felt like three days had gone by in the other world. As soon as she got herself collected, the researchers started asking her all sorts of questions, varying from what happened there, where did you go, and who did you meet.

  
She answered each one carefully as possible. Wary, to not give away too much informations. In her mind, she would rather trust in the pretty fairy she met earlier. Sceptical with her short answers, Sakura noticed that one of the researchers in the lab was staring at her. She haven’t seen the man before though. He had a bandage over his eye with a scar on his face. He gave her a chill when suddenly his gaze intensified.

  
She tried her best not to stand out more afterwards as they did more experiments on her body. On some days, she would get electrocuted, others, she would be put in a forest room to fight to her death. If she survive, then they would confine her again in a cell. It was cold, so Sakura tried her best in every tests even if it involves having to slash a neck.

‘_**The pale flesh that was covered with blood as your hand chokes anothe-**_'

  
‘_Inner!_’ Inner shrugs her shoulders. It doesn’t affect her much like how it does to her Outer.

  
‘_**It’s night time Sakura, and you’re not sleeping. Instead you ponder on and on about the institute that it’s boring. Sakura, let me sleep.**_’

  
‘_Sorry, go ahead._’

  
With that said, Sakura was again left with her thoughts. 

  
She glanced around in her room. It was dark, symboling the night sky. There was a window higher than she could reach with bars attached. The moonlight seeped into her room just a little bit and Sakura reached out her tiny hand towards the light. Her room only consisted of a bed in the middle of the room and a mirror. It’s not much, but at least it’s better than the ones she had lived in before.

  
Right at that moment, Sakura was sitting in the far corner of the room. She never slept on the bed because it did not appease her anxiety. Now, as she gazed at the light shining on her hand, Sakura curled herself deeper into the corner. She thought of what went wrong in her still young life. 

  
First, she was found near the institute close to a forest, then they took her in because they saw a miracle in her. It didn’t make any sense to her. She was put in an orphanage until she was three and a half years of age, then was sent to the institute to be cared by a single nanny. It was not fun. In the orphanage, all the bigger kids always bullied her. They would kick her bottle away whenever the caretaker would turn their back for a second. She also remembered that time she was four when the nanny that was taking care of her at the institute became mad and would always slammed her head into the boiling soup that she carried in. 

Sakura did not know what she did wrong. But apparently the other kids did.

  
Her name was not known but Sakura called her Number Two. Number two would often grabbed her thin hair and scolded her badly. No matter if she was innocent or not, she would do it. After that came the slap and the cigarettes. 

  
Oh, the cigarettes.

  
Often times, when night came at the institute, number two would smoke two cigarettes in her room. If she found Sakura moving a tad bit, then she would pull out the cigarette from her mouth and thrust the burning end onto her arm. What’s worse was that, she would even choke her neck with her hands and would try to force her to swallow wate afterwards. Her screams were always ignored by the other nannies.

  
The other children would simply avert their gaze from her because they were just too used to the scene.

  
Finally, on one night that Sakura thought that she had enough, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Number two noticed her action and tried to strangle her again. Sakura knew she should feel the fear at that situation, however she only felt calmness spreading through her being.

  
Then, she opened her eyes.

  
She looked at Number two in front of her. 

  
To her surprise, Number two was on the other side of her room, lying on the floor limply. There was a crack on top of her head and Sakura stared at her raised hands in shock. At the moment before number two could even reach out her hands to strangle her, Sakura had put out her palms in the air so she could push Number two back. She expected for it to not work as the other kids would, but throw in her confusion when a small burst of light glowed out from her palms.

They pushed Number two back and slammed her body to the wall. Terrified, Sakura went and banged on the metal door of the cell. She screamed out for anyone there to help her.

  
The other nannies came to her room and they were alarmed to see the lifeless state of Number two. They turned their sharp gaze towards her crying self and led her to an another room. They called someone to examine her. They probe and asked her questions, related to her nanny. She explained all the things that happened to them and they looked so surprised. In the end, she heard them talking about how a person named Danzo needed to know about her.

  
She felt frightened as they smiled and cooed her to go with them somewhere else. She was blindfolded when they carried her to wherever they had planned to take her to. She begged and begged for them to release her, but they were only silent.

  
She was brought to a different wing of the institute. They took off her blindfold and Sakura almost cried out when she was forced to go into a room. It was dark and Sakura hates dark things. Inside, there was a monitor and a chair. It seems like the guy who was talking to the monitor was not surprised to see her. They asked about her and the guy finally understood. He turned back to the monitor and spoke to them. They said to put her there and test her out. She could be the one.

  
After that, Sakura was ushered to her own room where she was told that she would not be able to come out unless on permission.

  
Many days had passed while she lived there. The food was nice, there’s no kids to bully her and the researchers were indifferent to whatever she did. It was not great, but it’s been better. Since then, days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months. Sakura was experimented on various kind of tests. They would make her walk on water, analyse how her mind worked and other different things.

  
Sometimes it’s painful, other times not. If she works obediently like how they want, then she could have a normal meal. But since Sakura tried a couple of times to not go out of her room, then the researchers would confine her in an underground cell.

  
In there, they would sometimes bring packs of wild dogs into her cell just to test her strength again. It always ended up with blood splashing everywhere. It was a personal horror story for Sakura because she would always be reminded of the scared whining of the dogs seeing one of their own be killed.

.

  
Bringing back her mind to reality, Sakura closed her eyes. 

  
Sleeping was a pill she never could take when she was with Number Two.

  
\---%-----

  
“Hey, Green. Wake up, you have another test to take.”

  
Sakura was woken up by the solemn voice of Rat. She rubbed her blurry eyes and took the extended hand stretched towards her. She was then carried by Rat to the lab. She looked at the dusty blue colour of Rat’s hair and curled her long hair in her hands.

  
Sakura met Rat when she was marked with other kids to fight in the death forest. Rat was cold at first to her and Sakura, like usually, would refuse to talk or have anything to do with the blue haired woman. But then, the woman would come by everyday to her room to escort her basically anywhere. It annoyed her to no end. Once, Sakura accidentally threw a particularly sharp scissor at her but the woman never got angry. She tried to make her mad a couple of times and failed a lot. Well, in the end she warmed up to the woman after Sakura healed one of the wound she had caused in the death forest. She guessed she pitied the woman.

  
Rat lets her do anything freely as long as the woman is within her vicinity. She sneaked some rice ball for her when the meaner kids would take her food, defended her when the other guards would try to take her and stayed in her room whenever she had her panic attacks. Well, it’s usually just Rat standing beside her watching while Sakura heaved on the floor.

  
Still, it did brought her comfort.

  
Tapping Sakura’s back softly, Rat gestured Sakura towards the lab’s door. She set her barefoot down and quickly went inside the room. She waved at Rat while the woman took her position outside. 

  
Taking a step forward inside the room, Sakura was welcomed by three guys in a black coat. One had a red hair with freckles, the other black and the last one grey. The trio was one of the cheery ones alongside Rat. She cooperated with them but she didn’t trust them like she did to Rat. There was something about the woman that made her feel comfortable whenever she's around.

  
“Well, hello Eight. A bit too early don’t you agree? Heh, let’s get this done with.” Said the black haired guy.

Sakura went directly to the lab’s table and climbed up the little stool they had kindly provided for her. The table was just a metal table with no soft cushions or pillows and it felt like ice to her skin. She remembered that time when she got a fever because one of the lab guys forgot to unleash the belts holding her down. So she had laid there, for three days without food or water trembling like the idiot they had called her. 

She didn’t know the meaning of it, but it’s probably a mean word.

“Lay off the sarcasm will ‘ya, Rei. Okay Eight, like the usual we’ll tie down the belts.” Replied the freckled guy.

  
“Okay.”

  
Rei and the freckled guy each stood beside the table on opposite’s side. Sakura immediately spread her her arms and legs to the side so the guys could tie them. Most of the time the belts did not really work considering her malnourished figure was very skinny and underweight. After they were done with that, Rei attached several wires on her forehead and right wrist.

  
Sakura saw the grey guy pulling out a tray from beside her table. Her eyes trembled when she saw the assortments of surgery tools on it. Sakura bit her dry bottom lip as a wave of nausea hit her. Noticing her stare following him, the grey haired guy set the tray down and pulled out a syringe. “Fancy me much, huh Nine?”

  
Being silent, Sakura could only turn her head away from the guy. Don’t get her wrong. While she is friendlier with the guys than the rest of the institute, she was definitely not into their psychotic behaviour. 

  
‘_**In your dreams butt head.**_’

  
Groaning in her mind, she shoved imaginary Inner aside and tried to focus on her surroundings. 

  
She saw Rei switching on the monitor which had the wires attached onto her forehead. They continued to set up all the equipments that she didn’t know the name of without uttering a single word. Rat was still standing outside of the lab watching the scene unfold.

Careful to observe any weird movements.

  
“Alright Nine. Go ahead. Slowly channel your chakra from your belly up to your head.”

  
So she did just that. She closed her eyes and concentrated hard on the small bundle of energy she felt in her stomach. She imagined grabbing a small wisp and slowly spread it to her legs. Then, when she felt her entire feet was enveloped in warm breeze, Sakura switched to spreading the chakra above her knees, her belly button, her chest and finally her forehead. She focused on keeping the energy there for a whole twenty seconds before her grip on the chakra wavered. 

  
“Alright. You can stop. Ito, what’s the reading?”

  
Ito scratched his freckles in concentration and watched the monitor warily. The girl just kept on getting better every time they did the tests. But the thing is, the score showed an increasing need of chakra in her throat areas and eyes. Now, it usually won’t be a problem if she just ate a regular meal and exercised enough, but with the condition she was in, that might be a problem.

  
“...It’s better than the last time. Although, you probably need to mention to leader about her progress.”

  
Rei turned his face towards Sakura and looked at her form from up to down. “Mei, let’s do it again. But add the electricity frequency again. Oh man, Eight......you sure you’re not an animal?”

  
With the unpleasant frown shown to him, he snickered briefly. Sakura prepared herself mentally for the upcoming electrocution.

  
‘_Wonder if it’s just me who’s weak or them being the evil lord in times like this?_’ Thought Sakura as she felt the creeping snares of electric working their way into her veins.

It didn’t hurt at the start but when the guys increased the volume, suddenly it started to itch really badly. It’s like thousands of mini worms trying to crawl inside her veins and trying to eat her alive. Her teeth chattered as she tried to hold in the pain of being electrocuted. She did this many times before so she can definitely do it this time. Her hands were balled tightly at the sides as her body glowed green. 

  
Her body was slightly lifted into the air while still being chained down by the belts. She cracked open her eyes to see several statics had appeared around her body. Her messy hair was already flying everywhere with the flow of her chakra trying to fight the foreign energy.

  
“Shoot, Ito! Lower the frequency down!” 

  
Freckled guy hurriedly switched off the monitors one by one without looking at the girl floating on the table of their lab. 

  
Sakura let out a soft breath as she felt her body calming down and gently settling back down on the table. Her heart was already pumping hard inside her ribcage as she tried to ease her frenzied mind into nothing.

Then, she finally dared a glance towards the occupants of the lab. The trio was huddling together while whispering nonsense towards each other. Through the stray hair covering her face, Sakura could see Rat waving her hand to her. She managed to tilt her head slightly before she felt the seeping black interfering with her visions. 

  
She gave one last glance towards the trio before she succumbed to her sleep.

  
\-- -- --

  
She woke up being carried in someone’s arms. Sakura wanted to panic at first because she didn’t want to be held by any of the institution’s guys except Rat. Her hands pulled at what she assumed was the person’s hair. She definitely pulled it too hard because as soon as she did, the person carrying her stopped walking.

  
“It’s me, Eight.”

  
Her body immediately relaxed upon hearing the voice. Sakura wiggled around until she was face to face with the older woman. She never smiled but Sakura could tell by the small glint in her eyes that she was amused with Sakura at that moment. She heaved out a breath and turned her eyes away.

“Come on, it’s your lunch and break time.”

“......yeah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I had to hold out myself from banging my head on the table as I typed and erased a lot of grammar errors. I swear the next chapters after this will be better. 
> 
> ....I hope.


	4. Ephemerality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning was an end to something. Sakura lost yet another to her hands. Inner might cope with it, and Sakura learns to.

She woke up feeling disoriented curled in the arms of Rat. 

Well, she didn’t quite know that when she woke up, so her swift reaction was to tense her whole body. However , once she saw the long hair and smelled the familiar scent of her guardian, Sakura hunched over almost immediately. 

_That's weird. The institute never allows the members to wear scented stuff._Thought Sakura dully.

She lifted her face from the crook of the woman’s shoulder to see a glass door in sight. The lab that she was in earlier was far behind them blending in with the other closed doors. Technically everything in the institution was made white. So much so her head spun a lot most of the day.Currently, they were in a long corridor that led to a big space in the institution.

Sakura noticed Rat had shifted her to her left arm so that she can open the door easily. She hugged the woman’s shoulder firmly to not fall down. The door must have been hard to open since it was made to be bulletproof. How did Sakura know this? A little incident occurred involving a failed experiment and a lot of blood being splashed on the door last time was what reminded her about the door.  
Then, the two of them finally stepped inside the big space.

Without further ado, Rat made her way towards the only tree in the area. The place was littered with kids running around everywhere-which Sakura envied their spirit- without a care for a penny.

Alone, standing in the middle of the room stood a big tree with pink sparkly petals with deep brown branches. Most of tree was still in prime condition except for the black-almost-grey roots of the tree that extended outwards down a small hill under them. At that point then her guardian went to the base of the tree to let Sakura climb up the enormous bark. 

  
“Stay here, alright? I'll be back with your food soon.”

  
Sakura nodded her head in reply since she was too busy scanning at the other kids in that area.

The institution to Sakura felt no different than the orphanage though, although it’s still a better place than the cramped and wet storage room where she used to hide in. In case number two had her anger attacks again. The woman was anything but kind back in those days Sakura had stayed with her. She held in the shudder that threatened to come out of her and tightly gripped her upper arm. She remembered how she used to beg and cry in front of the nannies at the orphanage just so they could help her—though she wasn’t hoping for much.

They had stood there blankly. She saw them turned their faces away from the scene as Sakura’s hair was grabbed harshly by her nanny.

Anyways, to shift her attention fromthe upsetting memories Sakura observed the occupants of the supposed break room they had. There were a lot of kids being kept in the institution with only a collar for their accessory and a simple white gown.

  
Sakura tilted her chin down to look at her own collar. Instead of the silvery metal that a lot of the kids were wearing Sakura had a black one on. One of the lab guys made her wear the collar because she was dubbed as potentially dangerous. The last visit to the Forest of Death made them call her a 'light killer'. It could be because she moves fast and only her was left in the forest in the end.

She unconsciously picked at the edge of her collar and a small electric prickled her index finger. Sakura almost yelped but she puts her finger away before she could do more damage. Not surprisingly, the institute had taken a _proper_ care to install a mini detector in each of their collar to obstruct their hands from breaking the fragile device.

_**'Fragile for us, not for**_ **_them.' _**Sakura huffed out a breath as she felt the imminent sense of uselessness creeping in her heart.

  
She didn’t wish to be such a weak girl. More so she did not wish to be a crybaby in the immediate face of danger itself.

Nevertheless, Sakura had been steadily trying to stop any tears from breaking down her face for months now so that wasn’t a problem. What posed as a problem for her however, was the vacant expressions her captive had whenever she was beaten down by kids twice her age. It bothered her how passive they were in front of the tortures she and the other kids had to endure. After all, they were only assigned there to keep track of her, not to cradle her with sweet dreams of canopies and birds flying away with lullabies surrounding them.

Her power might be the reason she got treated better than when she had earliest arrival to the Institute. Her throat itched at the implications hinted behind the continuous study of her impetuous bout of power so unchanging, even when she was in the brink of chakra exhaustion.

Truthfully, those who were deemed 'useful' by the person named Danzo-sama were treated as a guinea pig and most lost their own emotions. Ranging from youngest to oldest, Sakura watched them being turned into something non-human.

  
She had expected the institution to try and snip the children of their overly sensitive emotions from the first day they came here. Though, no one knew what was spiraling in their leaders head. Since they were taught to only believe in him and all his goons—Sakura, not limited to it.

However, in the big space like the room she’s in, there are certainly a lot of cheerful kids so ignorant to the future that’s waiting for them. Their eyes still sparkled in the light and they had such unmatched bounces in their steps. The innocent that Sakura once had in herself was still there in them.

  
‘_**Nah, you still have them. You’re just traumatized**_.’ Countered Inner.

  
Sakura frowned. '_What is tra-woo-ma-tayiz?_’

  
_ **It's traumatized, silly. It’s the word you use when you can’t handle something bad happening in the past.** _

Oh.

  
Well, moving on.

One of the kids playing tags beneath the tree catched her eyes and Sakura promptly felt drawn to the chalky white hair that he had. The kid though, noticing her stare, whipped his head to her and gawked. They kept staring at each other until the boy finally let out a big wave to her.

Startled, Sakura speedily looked away. Carefully she turned towards him _again.'He wasn’t_ _trying to talk to me was he?_ Thought the girl in question.

Sakura made an effort to give him a slight wave in return. She was not afraid, she was just…._shy_. The kid beamed at her and finally went back to his group of friends waiting in the background. Then, Sakura lifted herself from the spot she was perched on and headed towards a higher branch. She had always liked the tree, ever since she first came there. The higher you climb the tree, the higher the chance for you to be spotted decrease. So she did just that.

  
Soon, she finally settled herself just a little bit below the top of the tree. Her back was to the bark and her right leg dangled at the side of the branch while her left one sat upright. It probably was not the best position to be in, but she couldn’t care less about that at that moment.

  
Sakura closed her eyes in thought and focused on the almost-serene atmosphere the big space gave her. For some strange reason, the institute thought it’d be best to let in natural habitat live in their recluse. No, no, there is nothing wrong in that, but in there?  
Inner Sakura scoffed unsightly in her mind.  
Instead of replying, Sakura tore her attention away towards the white doves flying above them. Not a word from them but she knew they wanted to be free. Just like Sakura, but she still wanted the protection the institution offered many times in their preach as she listened to the horror story about the outside world some of their captives told them from time to time.

  
Free from the suffocated feel of the dorm like space they were in. From the forgery of a sky being put on display high above the ceiling glass. So Sakura tentatively reached out her tiny palm towards the sky and watched.

She watched with teary eyes as the night sky bled out tinier little stars and spread them all over the ceiling. Although, she knew deep within her those were all illusions. It often felt like the moon which was shining so brightly at that moment was mocking them in the dark. She never doubted the thought, since they were all trapped in the prison called Institute.

  
Her dead eyes then fell towards the glimmering star shower. Rat had told her in the past that the people from the outside world used to wish upon them once they saw a shooting star above them. What’s more, there was a country where they were rained with stars every night.—Every night! Her young and believing heart all the same, trusted those words and _wrenched_.

  
She wanted to see the outside world so much. So much so that she rather escape from the Institute than being a lab rat. But being a lab rat is better than living on the streets they said.

  
Sakura tugged down her sore arm and just basked in the slight peace she was given. Unfortunately, she was soon disturbed by the presence of Rat bringing her meals. What was called a meal was only bread, some soup and milk being served on a metal tray. It didn’t worth much but she won’t complain.

  
Rat slowly walked up the tree careful not to tip the tray over. Soon, she reached the girl who was resting casually above them. 

  
Sakura pulled the tray gently from her guardian’s hands and place them on her thighs. She blanched at the tasteless soup, be that as it may at Rat's stare, the girl could only swallow her pride down her throat and eat the food given to her. Truly at that moment, Sakura was grateful that it was better than the stale bread served to her at the orphanage before.

  
While she was busy gulping her food down, Rat had made a simple decision to sit on the opposite branch Sakura was on. Thinking deeply about it, Sakura scratched her long bangs and held out half of her bread to the woman on the other side. Noticing the gesture, Rat politely declined.

  
“You accompany me everywhere without a word of complain. Come on, I'm sincere.”

  
Hesitating quite a bit, finally Rat accepted the bread. She lifted her mask just slightly and pushed the whole thing inside her mouth. All the while Sakura was trying to peek at her face unsuccessfully. She didn’t understand what the problem was with hiding their face under a mask. It’s not like the kids there will tell anyone from outside.

  
'**_It’s just a matter of precaution, Sakura. There might be 'rats' in here, after all._** Not paying attention to the obviously mocking word of her Inner, Sakura returned to leaning on the tree. 

That night, she stayed that way with rat just watching the sky changing colours. Until her eyes couldn’t stay awake no more and Rat had to carry her to her room. 

  
Though, even then her eyes never left the ceiling even once.

  
____

“Wake up, Sakura.”

  
The sound of Rat’s voice immediately woke her up from her dreamless sleep.

  
Groggily, Sakura got up from her bed. She rubbed her sleepy eyes from any trace of sleep and yawned. Her white blanket that she slept in fell to her thighs as she positioned herself over the edge of the bed. Trying to stand was quite a hassle to Sakura because her feet always dangled just above the floor. Usually Rat would set a small ladder for her, but ever since those guys from the upper lab found out she’s been spoiling Sakura, all small affectionate actions were stopped instantly.

“What time is it?”

Sakura asked the woman while she headed over to the bathroom. Her hands reached for the towel prepared by woman. “It’s six currently so you have 20 minutes to get ready. From there on, we’ll head to the death forest.”

.

Sakura froze.

.

  
Her hands trembled as she scrunched them in the towel. The death forest always scared her in the past and it still did. Just imagining the thick liquid oozing out from those injured bodies-

  
‘_**Breathe, Sakura.**_’ Chimed Inner.

  
Steadily, Sakura breathed in and breathed out. No matter the building emotions she felt in her chest at that moment she still needs to go.

  
Calmly, she replied. “I see.”

  
Well, off she went to shower after that.

  
____

“You really shouldn’t spoil me too much, Rat.”

  
The woman in question did not say a word to her. Sakura had said such inquiries so often it’s normal for her not to respond.Not getting the respond that she needed, Sakura tried again. “You know they will punish you if they discover that you lightened the punishment for me, right?”

  
Still it did not deter her walking. She had Sakura in her arms again with Sakura holding onto her lightly. Rat tilted her mask towards the girl and knocked it slightly at her cheek.

“So be it.” The girl though, was not fine with it.

Not knowing what to do with the anonymous answer, Sakura just chose to focus on the place they were headed to. 

  
The death forest.

  
The first time Sakura was placed as a candidate there was three months after her accidental transportation. All the health checkups and the experiments could never size up to the torture the forest had for her. Well, that includes making her first kill on the _First day_ she was placed there.

‘_**Look, Sakura. It was either survive or not survive you get me? Besides, at least you’re being treated slightly better than others right?**_”

  
Sakura bit her lip.‘_Oh Inner. I know that…it's just that the memories keeps on repeating inside my head every time I hear the word death. How do you cope with the deaths?'_

  
‘**_Honestly, I don’t. Since I’m not the one who experienced it, I can only help us by locking it up. Well, if that too doesn’t work, you can always choose death over it._**’

Flinching, Sakura nuzzled her head in the crook of Rat’s neck. If the woman noticed anything in the action she didn’t comment on it.

  
_Thud_.

  
Her ears picked up the thudding of a cane. It was familiar after all. She had been suffering in the hand of the person who always held it.   
Turning her head slowly to the side, Sakura confirmed her suspicion. The lone eye staring at her so dead in the eye while the other was bandaged over his head. His face was old and wrinkly and she felt uncomfortable whenever she was stared at by the man. Although, the said man was staring at her right then and there.

  
“I hope for another good result again, Eight.”

  
The voice gritted her ears and Sakura only turned her gaze to the floor. She didn’t know why, but she’s afraid of the man. He holds some kind of monstrous power that she felt even Rat was overpowered.

  
Stepping even further to the door, Rat finally set Sakura to her own feet.Her hands held the woman’s shirt tightly for just a moment before she bid the woman goodbye. All the while Danzo's wary eyes did not miss the notions.

  
Opening the door for the little girl, Rat followed Danzo to the stairs beside the room towards another room upstairs. It’s where they constantly monitor her and the other participants.Sakura stepped inside the room carefully and stopped to observe her opponents. There was only three this time.

  
One of them being the kid who had the chalky white hair. The boy looks so confused with the whole situation and Sakura couldn’t bring herself to ask if he was put here willingly in conscious or not. Instead, Sakura just waved at him. Luckily the boy didn’t suspect anything.

  
Another two kids, surprisingly, are one of the kids who loved to bully her all the time. They were named Seven and Five. To be precise, they did not have a guardian who stuck to them like Rat did with her. Well, they do but not as affectionate as Rat was.

  
Seven, carried a head full of red and a set of black coloured eyes. Her striking eyes often creeped Sakura out because she felt so weak from the constant attention those pair of eyes gave her. To begin with, Seven was an emotionless ‘fool’ who was removed of her emotions like the other old kids. So in her jealous fits of Sakura having a ‘special’ treatment unlike her, she loved to taunt her at every available notice. While Five was a calmer bunch of the two. He had brown hair and a set of golden eyes. 

  
Five too, was rid of his emotions but his intelligence made up for the lack of strength while Seven was all about brute force.   
Yet, Sakura was not sure what power those three held considering she never made any attempt to get to know them, especially the younger one.

  
“We’ll be starting in two minutes. Take this time to look at your surroundings.” Danzo's voice carried out throughout the training ground as he glanced at each participants of the fight that’s bound to come.

  
And really, with all that’s happening, Sakura’s hatred for the man increased with each passing moments. Even when the guilt gnawed at her heart for feeling that way.

____

  
Her feet hurt.

  
One second after they had announced the start of the match, Sakura had quickly dived into the forest. In her peripheral vision, she could see the boy from earlier running like her. A breath of relief escaped her and Sakura pried her eyes away from the place she was standing at in the beginning.

  
She didn’t want to outrun herself from the first get-go. She’d rather plan and strike than run, hide and then run again.She tried her best to stifle her short breaths as she scuffled her way deeper into the forest. She knew what to do here from her experience in the past.

They set them up in the expanse of the area and the participants can choose to either partner up or be a solo fighter. The plan was for them to find a hidden scroll and place them exactly inside the tower situated in the middle of the area. Sakura had memorized the paths countless times in the past enough to get her through the mission.

  
Even though the mission sounds easy enough for them, the reality was utterly far fetched. They did not count the rules stated to them that they may use any measures to ensure the scroll gets to safety. Needless to say, killing was not her favourite pastime but she can surely say that it was for the duo chasing her.

Sakura hid her chakra signature like how Rat had taught her and changed her course of direction towards the left while she signaled her clone to go the opposite route. The one she had chosen to take may have been a longer one to get to the tower, but if it can increase the possibility of her predators from catching up to her, Sakura would gladly take it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes. The contradiction in the chapter about Sakura being loyal to the institute and feeling hate for them is on purpose.
> 
> .
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
